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An anonymous reader writes "Ladar Levison, founder of the encrypted email service Lavabit that shut down last year because of friction with U.S. government data requests, has an article at The Guardian where he explains the whole story. He writes, 'My legal saga started last summer with a knock at the door, behind which stood two federal agents ready to to serve me with a court order requiring the installation of surveillance equipment on my company's network. ... I had no choice but to consent to the installation of their device, which would hand the U.S. government access to all of the messages – to and from all of my customers – as they traveled between their email accounts other providers on the Internet. But that wasn't enough. The federal agents then claimed that their court order required me to surrender my company's private encryption keys, and I balked. What they said they needed were customer passwords – which were sent securely – so that they could access the plain-text versions of messages from customers using my company's encrypted storage feature. (The government would later claim they only made this demand because of my "noncompliance".) ... What ensued was a flurry of legal proceedings that would last 38 days, ending not only my startup but also destroying, bit by bit, the very principle upon which I founded it – that we all have a right to personal privacy.'"

OK, I'll bite - so just because other countries abuse people's rights, that makes the abuse of the US courts and government OK? The point is: most other countries abusing such rights don't hypocritically pretend to be "the land of the free." Except the UK, of course. Once this may have been true for the US but that time has long gone.

True freedom is goal to work towards not a utopian destination that can ever be achieved. The freedoms and rights defined in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights were not iron cast declarations of truth that magically changed human behavior over night. Those precepts have been rigorously challenged since the day they were created. The most obvious "All men are created equal.." idea was certainly not true in the most obvious of ways but there have been great strides in trying to reach that mythic goal. Pe

"Logical Fallacies -- Changing the Subject: The fallacies in this section change the subject by discussing the person making the argument instead of discussing reasons to believe or disbelieve the conclusion. While on some occasions it is useful to cite authorities, it is almost never appropriate to discuss the person instead of the argument."

Let me guess...YOU live in the nation with the trustworthy government [...]

What's your point, seriously? Who cares! Look, I'm an American. I really don't give a shit what other countries do, and I don't care if they want to criticize us about this. It's really neither here nor there. Our government is doing something very wrong, something that undermines the whole American Experiment—irrevocably. That's the real topic of conversation here.

Frankly, with the way things are in this country, I hope it begins to pinch our wallets. It's the only way most Americans, from the corporate bigwigs to the politicians to the straphangers and soccer moms in the suburbs, ever take anything seriously. People need to wake up.

This is a false argument. If a country is wrong in what it's doing, it's wrong. The US government is wrong in this case. They should have marrowed the search to specific accounts. They wanted to capture all communication, which cannot be justified without false statements. If it's wrong it's wrong, even if the person pointing it out is in a worse situation. People in far worse countries have always looked to the US to set the example. They have just as much right, if not more, to feel let down. We are not the leaders of the free world as much as we are the leaders of the mass spying on the free world.

Why would I need to meet your requirements to gain my freedom of speech to decry the abuses of the USA? Or are you saying that so long as the USA is the second worse place on the planet, there's always somewhere worse, therefore, it isn't "that bad" (TM).

If he lived in one of the nordic countries? yes, It's the last bastion of freedom on this planet.Funny how the countries filled with the ancestors of the Vikings are the ones that are not filled to the brim with corrupt scumbag assholes hell bent on controlling it's people.

As someone who studied history and lived overseas, the US has its problems. However, it sucks less than other countries. If you profess you are athiest in a good chunk of the world, the locals will have your head, and your family's head, call it an honor killing, and jump with joy.

If you lived in East Germany, step over the wrong line, and you would get machine gunned down for kicks.

No, the US isn't problem free, and the Iraq was the stupidest theater of war on record. However, I can yell epithets about

No, the US isn't problem free, and the Iraq was the stupidest theater of war on record.

Are you sure of that? There's a lot of competition for that title, y'know. Most of the wars in the last couple of decades are serious contenders.

There's yet another one ramping up in the area between Russia and the Black Sea, similar to the American Civil War, but even stupider. In the case of Iraq, Saddam was a seriously evil bastard, with lots of blood on his hands, though of course that didn't come close to justifying what the US did to the Iraqi population (and what Iraqi factions did to each other), so it's pretty far up there on the stupid-meter. But do a bit of reading about the recent history in, say, Rwanda or Kosovo or Cambodia, if you want to see some really over-the-top stupid slaughter of civilian populations for no discernible reason other than the insightful word "theater".

You can also (re-)read Jonathan Swift's tale of Gulliver's Travels, especially the section about the war between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians, for a good explanation of how such wars get started.

"Realistically, other than Australia, north America, and western Europe, there are not many free countries out there."

umm yeah. so why choose to compare to easy countries?

I mean, Finland can kick most countries in the world in hockey, but we haven't had many world championships but still try for that every year.. even if it's blatantly obvious we would beat Ghana in hockey any day of the week.and you know what's different between DDR and USA? in former DDR they're trying to reconcile with their history of

Not really. He is using a unique pseudonym, so his written statements and reputation can be tracked.If a criminal investigation in necessitated, it's pretty easy to find out who the real person is that uses that pseudonym.

He's not "hiding behind a pseudonym", rather he is using it to create his own identity in the slashdot community while putting enough separation between himself and those things outside of slashdot that each must be judged on it's own merits, and he won't have his boss breathing down his neck if his opinions differ from those of management.

That means that the US also need to export things to have a healthy trade balance, otherwise the economy will go in the crapper (even more so than it is).

The US has been running a trade deficient since 1980's and if foreign countries stop buying US made products it's going to be a huge problem financially. In March the US trade deficit was a staggering $40 billion. See http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/balance-of-trade [tradingeconomics.com] for current and historical data on the US trade.

In other words, saying that "the US is not particularly dependent on foreign trade" is patently wrong.

That means that the US also need to export things to have a healthy trade balance, otherwise the economy will go in the crapper (even more so than it is).

The US has been running a trade deficient since 1980's and if foreign countries stop buying US made products it's going to be a huge problem financially. In March the US trade deficit was a staggering $40 billion. See http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/balance-of-trade [tradingeconomics.com] for current and historical data on the US trade.

In other words, saying that "the US is not particularly dependent on foreign trade" is patently wrong.

The USA 'exports' 'intellectual property' problems to the rest of the world.

And a small amount of food, many industrialized nations having rules that exclude the hormoned GMO products from the US. Oranges are about all I see from the USA, and some other less popular fruits. A few high-price clothing lines are still made in the US. And I think mowers, and a few tractors, but the Chinese versions are getting more widely available. And of course luxury items like boats. But yes, Hollywood is one of the largest maker of US exports (certainly the most visible).

You don't shop much do you? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find any household items not made in China?

I didn't find it hard at all in my household (in a western suburb of Boston). I easily found items manufactured in places like Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and even Japan. Oh, and a couple of items from Scandinavia, too. Not much made in the US, though.

Actually, my wife makes a lot of her own clothes, partly as a hobby, but mostly out of disappointment about the crap sold in local clothing stores. She has been complaining about the slow loss of the local fabric stores. Buying online doesn't work well, because you can't feel the material before ordering it. And most of her favorite fabrics do come from outside the US, though I don't think many are from China. But the "manufacturing" is done very locally, upstairs.;-)

Do you realize that what it is actually saying is that in the US, manufacturers have much higher markups on their products than Chinese?And of course carefully ignores the fact that most of what they count as manufacturing is actually assembly of Chinese produced components?

a few other titbits you may like:'China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries increased $12.2 billion to a record $1.317 trillion in November, data released on the Treasury Department’s website showed. ''China’s swelling foreign-exchange reserves, reported today to have reached a world record $3.82 trillion at the end of December'

The simple fact is that americans have priced themselves out of base manufacturing, and are only just holding on to 'value-added' assembly - most of thebase capability still left is held their artifically to avoid huge unemployment of the working class.That is of course why the US has spent the last two decades forcing their own bizarre view of IP/Trade laws down the throats of other countries practically at gunpoint - after all the Romans demand their peeled grapes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_virtue .

You are aware that the article is from 2011? A lot has happened since that article was written.

During 2011 Chinas manufacturing output increased by 23% compared to the US 2.8%. That $2.9 trillions vs. $2.43 trillions, a ~20% difference for 2011. Since then China has steadily increased their output while the US has been at a standstill because of the recession.

Even today, China's manufacturing is still mostly in the low-value parts of the market. Assembling circuit boards or making PC cases isn't quite like our still vast superiority in real heavy industry. The problem is that our productivity is off the charts via automation instead of labor - we just don't need a big enough labor force in manufacturing to support a large middle class based on those industries.

not ONE american car company, chevy, ford,chrysler makes american cars. they are ALL made outside the USA or the majority of them are (in parts and assemblies)

BMW and Honda are MORE american made than any other car because they are actually made here with parts made here.

Very VERY little is actualy made here anymore and you an slap a "made in america" sticker on things made of china parts. For example... Harley Davidson bikes are 60% china parts and assembled in Mexico and Canada.

> not ONE american car company, chevy, ford,chrysler makes american cars.

That really doesn't matter because as you yourself point out, there are other companies that have their factories here. That's what ultimately matters. Who owns it isn't relevant as much as who is doing the work.

Raw GDP includes the "value added" by a microwave heating a patty and served in a McValueless meal. There is no easy way to measure "factory manufacturing", so it comes down to two sides fighting about making the numbers up. Neither numbers are correct, and neither side will work with the other to come up with realistic numbers. From what I can see the US doesn't "make" much anymore. But it's hard to tell. Also, often the "hard" manufacturing is done outside the US, and final assembly is done in the US,

The difference is that only "enlightened western democracies" are so fucking hypocritical about it. The USA is the worst offender in this regard. They keep carrying on about freedom and liberty and other bullshit while implementing things like this, waging illegal wars, and trying to force their ideology onto the world. It's the hypocrisy more than the actual actions.

There is a difference between spying on your citizens and ordering businesses to help you spy on citizens and in the process sue them, deprive them of justice and generally treat them like they are Bin Laden incarnated.
I'm sure there are not a whole lot of countries that would go that far. Maybe countries like North Korea, Cuba and yes, the USA.

We expect it from China because they are [more or less] (not us, so therefore) a potential enemy, like Russia, like latest Islamatyrant, blah blah.

(going US centric) We were raised to believe that the US was better than what we're finding out it's doing. We were taught to believe we are a shining beacon of freedom, democracy, that our way is the best way - or at least it's the best way done so far - because look at all of the failings we see around us.. we take the moral highground making us better than the

A Chinese and Russian "Snowden" would have quickly disappeared with nobody knowing or caring.

Or not. That's why you have both chinese and russian dissidents. And USA is the country that went after Assange as a 'traitor', regardless of his nationality. From the other side of the pond, USA does look like a police state straight out of 1984 - not only because of the huge levels of incompetence while monitoring people, but also because of what you just said. The level of brainwash that takes for someone to say "my democratic system is better" when its not actually democratic NOR pluralist is an indoctrinator's dream come true. Have a good look at the Roman empire, and why it has fallen. History has a tendency to repeat itself.

You are really not better. You are much worse because in addition to violating human rights, your own laws and constitution, you Americans also have the guts to chastise everybody else for doing the very same things (just on a smaller scale). You are the pinnacle of hypocrisy.

for this guy who was willing to shut down his business rather than betray his principles and his customers. Note that the government doesn't appear to have wanted the passwords and encryption keys for specific individuals, they wanted the whole fucking lot.

I guess "Don't Tread on Me!" has been transformed to "Go Ahead and Trample Me!":P

Did you read TFA at all? They were supposed to look at just one user's metadata but tried to expand it to cover all users data and metadata so they could have themselves a nice fishing expedition.

He didn't refuse to comply, he just needed some time to get advice on what he ACTUALLY had to do to comply. Being stuck under a gag order certainly didn't speed up that process. The feds were mad because when they said jump, he didn't salute and ask how high before the echo of their words faded.

- June 28 - warrant for metadata for one user- Lavabit fails to comply- July 16 - warant for SSL keys- Lavabit freaks out and still refuses to comply- August 5 court threatens contempt and $5,000/day fine and Lavabit shuts down

Not making a comment on who is right. It's just misleading to ignore the first part hence you've been mislead.

That a small business owner is ill-equipped to deal with the weight of the federal government coming down on him.

We learned that you can't go from nothing to fighting the FBI and NSA on constitutional grounds in the space of a few days. You won't even FIND a lawyer able to take up your case; nevermind be able to bring him up to speed, and get him the evidence you need, and have him prepare an actual defense for you; especially when everything is under seal, and secret gag orders.

He refused to comply with a court order and provide the metadata (email headers, not the body) after which the prosecutors obtained a warrant for SLL keys.

His version of the story contradicts that claim. I doubt you have authoritative inside knowledge as to the truth here.

Warrants for email headers are commonly obtained in criminal investigations and its not unusual or surprising that they wanted Snowden's as he is a subject of federal investigation for multiple serious crimes.

Have you read the warrant? Some how I doubt it. Because he's claiming they wanted a lot more than that.

The general consensus is that he handled his defense poorly, and as a result made things worse for himself. What this interview shone the spotlight on is that his 'poor handling' of his defense was, in many respects, entirely beyond his control -- trapped between tight deadlines, restrictive sealed gag orders, being a '3rd party' to the actual case instead of an actual defendant, and not having a lawyer already lined up and primed meant that he was effectively denied justice by these process constraints put on him.

It's far more clever than that. Normally the small business owner can appeal for help and fight. This is something that works for the public good to keep goernment in check, but they made even asking for help impossible. 1st rule of FISA Club is you don't talk about FISA Club. The act of mearly asking for help would land a person in prison.

I think this is an important article because he does a good job of showing how the govt bullies people around -- and illuminating precisely why governmental power NEEDS checks and balances, like a functioning (not rubber-stamp) court and warrant system.

You could change a few words in this story and make it about something that happened in China or Soviet Russia or any other oppressive nation on Earth, past or present, and it would be plausible.

I've said it before: The United States that I thought I grew up in? It wasn't real; it was a fantasy, a lie. THIS is the reality, and it's a goddamned depressing one. 'Secure in your person and papers', indeed. When was the last time those words actually meant something? Did they ever mean anything?

Completely agree. I'll quote myself for no other reason than I just 90sec ago stated the same thing earlier and you completely encapsulated how I feel. I have a feeling that there are quite a lot of us like this.

"We expect it from China because they are [more or less] (not us, so therefore) a potential enemy, like Russia, like latest Islamatyrant, blah blah.

(going US centric) We were raised to believe that the US was better than what we're finding out it's doing. We were taught to believe we are a shining beacon of freedom, democracy, that our way is the best way - or at least it's the best way done so far - because look at all of the failings we see around us.. we take the moral highground making us better than the tyrants who do the stuff that we despise, etc.

There are a lot of Snowdens out there.. not necessarily in what power or knowledge we have, but that those of us that feel everything instilled in us about our nation's greatness is turning out to be complete bullshit."

Well d'oh! Secret court, man - what more do you need to see there's something rotten in the land of freedom? And even though it has been proven how evil this thing is - for example by the 2013 top-secret order for an all-metadata feed from VBNS to NSA - it still exists! The way you've allowed all kinds of extreme measures to be implemented out of fear of terrorists really reminds me of something in our history here in the EU. Just replace terrorists with jews and communists... but don't worry, you are bound

I violated the Prime Directive and read TFA, which, as an American, I found horrifying. For the first time that I can remember, I was inspired to contact my Congresscritters. If you're a citizen, please read the article, and then contact your senator/representatives and tell them this has to stop.

He did have his day in court and he lost. Did even read a line of TFA. And the court impossed a $5,000/day per day fine, for non-compliance. No big deal right, you would have just paid it out of your pocked (do remember his is a small business, that doing okay, but no where to close to pay those fines). If he had still refused, he would been hit with a contempt of court.

The statement is that FBI knocked on his door and asked him to let them install "survellance equipment" on his servers. What "surveillance equipment" would that be? Just curious - what kind of equipment could these guys carry with them, that could be installed and used for surveillance?

I can imagine operating Lavabit-type of service in some European country. EU's grip on the internet is much weaker than that of the NSA, and recent efforts towards strengthening online privacy give me the reason to believe that it would be difficult to actually shut down such a service. Provisions for obtaining private data through a court order exist also in the EU so there is a legal way for the government to go after criminals who would use it, and with the recent revelations of how thoroughly has the EU been penetrated by NSA (literally as well as figuratively), spinning it as moving from the no-longer-free USA to the still-free EU would also help to protect the service - should anyone try to lay a heavy hand on the service, I think that it would quickly escalate into a discussion in the European Parliament and a lot of scathing titles in big newspapers. Other indications - for example how big are current EU research grant calls in ICT on online privacy, security and trust - also make me believe that Lavabit could work here. So don't hesitate, come here and be free again, guys;)
Also, I don't think that the MU case is pertinent here, as it happened in a US colony.

It seems to me like he handled it a bit badly. Constitutionally, the federal government is not allowed to take private property for public use without just compensation. That is what they were doing with installing the devices and all.

I would have made a constitutional argument in court that the NSA and Federal government is using my network for public gain therefor I am entitle to just compensation according to the constitution and then lay out the ins and outs of it in the case. Perhaps he still can and c

Good luck rounding up legal representation from a cell in Gitmo. Any attempt to make a legal argument around the details of NSA's request would have them shut down as hindering national security. Push the issue and you're a terrorist and off to a little resort in the Caribbean for you.

Good luck rounding up legal representation from a cell in Gitmo. Any attempt to make a legal argument around the details of NSA's request would have them shut down as hindering national security. Push the issue and you're a terrorist and off to a little resort in the Caribbean for you.

I think this is a stretch of imagination. If the USA was a bad as this statement makes us appear to be, then why is Ladar Levison free and able to talk to us? I would think he'd have disappeared without a sound and Lavabit would've been confiscated quietly.

While I agree, the Police States of America are getting a bit out of hand, it ain't quite this bad. Not yet at least. Headed there, but I like to believe it's not too late to take a different road.

I think this is a stretch of imagination. If the USA was a bad as this statement makes us appear to be, then why is Ladar Levison free and able to talk to us? I would think he'd have disappeared without a sound and Lavabit would've been confiscated quietly.

What makes you think they don't allow a few through to give the illusion of rule of law. Those that did get sent to Gitmo didn't make the news.

The third amendment forbids quartering of troops in peacetime without consent. I'd argue that the there is no distinction between monitoring equipment and troops. Troops don't have to be human. We may one day have a droid army, so is the government free to post one in each business to monitor its activity?

The third amendment forbids quartering of troops in peacetime without consent. I'd argue that the there is no distinction between monitoring equipment and troops.

You could argue that. If there is a judge involved, he wouldn't be blinded by the splendour of your argument. He would conclude that you are an obnoxious little twat making fun of him and the court, and treat you accordingly. I'm not saying that's what you are, but that's what the judge would assume. He would therefore decide against you whenever there is any leeway in a decision.

Given the stakes that would be required to just get to the point where you're making that argument in front of a federal judge, I'd hope that judge would have more intelligence than to respond in the manner you suggest.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) included the Third in its majority decision as implying a belief that a home should be free from agents of the state, so precedent does exist. And in this modern age where agents of the state can be "present" in your homes 24/7 via electronic means, what exactly does "quartered" now encompass?

You could argue that. If there is a judge involved, he wouldn't be blinded by the splendour of your argument.

Of course, the same judge will wisely and sagely nod along in complete agreement when the government is arguing that ubiquitous surveillance and tracking in public is ok because a surveillance camera connected to a massive computational back end is just like a patrol cop.

No.. Fines are punishment for acts against the law. You are afforded due process of the law or your waive that by just paying the fines but it's an option if you don't agree with the fine. Fees are just that too, payment for services rendered or permits or whatever.

Taking private property for public use is more like the cop showing up and insisting on using your home for a stake out against your will. It's like taking your patented drug and manufacturing it for the masses because of some outbreak. It's like

When lambasting the ignorant masses, you should at least try to use proper English.

Ceded, not seeded you dumb fuck.

Actually the use of "seeded" makes perfectly good sense, and is in fact a very evocative phrasing - that the control will continue to grow and spread as the 'seed' sprouts and reseeds among the sociopaths.

Can someone please point me to the alleged Right to Privacy in the Constitution, because I don't see one.

There is no prohibition against government infringing upon a hypothetical right to privacy, and certainly no expectation of privacy exists for anything transmitted over the Internet, which was created and built with government money.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Can someone please point me to the alleged Right to Privacy in the Constitution, because I don't see one.

There is no prohibition against government infringing upon a hypothetical right to privacy, and certainly no expectation of privacy exists for anything transmitted over the Internet, which was created and built with government money.

It's called the tenth amendment.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Since there's not a specific right to invade privacy granted to the Fed, there is therefore a right to privacy.

For many years, the English government had used a "general warrant" to enforce its laws. These warrants were broad in nature and did not have specifics as to why they were issued or what the arrest was being made for. A general warrant placed almost no limitations on the search or arresting authority of a soldier or sheriff. This concept had become a serious problem when those in power issued general warrants to have their enemies arrested when no wrongdoing had been done. During the mid-18th century, the English government outlawed all general warrants. This study of the history of England made the American Founding Fathers ensure that general warrants would be illegal in the United States as well when the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791.

I do not know why I am shocked when I read this stuff when idiots like this who have access to incredible amounts of historical literature on the internet, post stuff like "Can someone please point me to the Right?"

The situation as far as I am concerned is hopeless without mass revolt.

There is just no way you are going to get rid of all the massive amounts of corruption from fixed banks, fixed markets, deliberate acts of espionage by this criminal cabal know as the two party system in the USA.